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Process Data set: Stainless steel drinking water pipe; Stainless steel pipe (en) en de

Key Data Set Information
Location DE
Geographical representativeness description The data set represents the country specific situation in Germany, focusing on the main technologies, the region specific characteristics and / or import statistics.
Reference year 2022
Name
Base name ; Quantitative product or process properties
Stainless steel drinking water pipe; Stainless steel pipe
Use advice for data set The data set represents a cradle to gate inventory. It can be used to characterise the supply chain situation of the respective commodity in a representative manner. Combination with individual unit processes using this commodity enables the generation of user-specific (product) LCAs.
Technical purpose of product or process This product can be used in construction.
Classification number 4.2.03
Classification
Class name : Hierarchy level
  • oekobau.dat: 4.2.03 Metals / Stainless steel / Stainless steel tap water tubes
General comment on data set This data set has been modeled according to the European Standard EN 15804+A2 for Sustainable Building. Results are depicted in modules that allow the structured expression of results over the entire life cycle.
Uncertainty margins 10
Description Product system almost completely covered. Good technological, temporal and geographic representativeness.
Copyright Yes
Owner of data set
Quantitative reference
Reference flow(s)
Material properties of the reference flow
    • gross density: 7850.0 kg/m^3
Time representativeness
Data set valid until 2024
Time representativeness description Annual average
Technological representativeness
Technology description including background system The dataset describes the production of a stainless steel drinking water pipe made of stainless steel (cold rolled). In so doing, the process of bending the steel sheet, the production of the welding seam as well as all necessary materials and energy expenditures have been considered. Transports from the factory to the building site are not considered and must be included according to the system boundaries. The main process step is the melting of stainless steel scrap in the electric arc furnace (EAF), thus the consumed energy is mainly electric power. The major feed stock for the EAF is stainless steel scrap, which may comprise of scrap from inside the steelworks (e.g. cut-offs), cut-offs from steel product manufacturers (e.g. vehicle builders) and post-consumer scrap (e.g. end of life products). As in the integrated steel plant including blast furnaces and converters, a slag is formed from lime to collect undesirable components in the steel. Thus lime is an additive as well as coal (carbon) as reducing agent and alloying elements. Oxygen lances and / or oxy-fuel burners are used to assist in the early stages of melting. For every material fraction the transport is considered in the data set. For the production of carbon steel and low alloyed steels, following main operations are performed: raw material handling and storage, furnace charging with/without scrap preheating, EAF scrap melting, steel and slag tapping, ladle furnace treatments for quality adjustment, slag handling and finally continuous casting. For high alloyed respectively stainless steels, the operation sequence is more complex and tailor-made for the end-products. In addition to the mentioned operations for carbon steels various ladle treatments (secondary metallurgy) are carried out like desulphurisation, degassing for the elimination of dissolved gases like nitrogen and hydrogen, decarburisation (AOD=Argon-Oxygen-Decarburisation or VOD=Vacuum-Oxygen-Decarburisation). The following operations are two rolling processes: the hot strip mill and the cold rolling mill. In the hot rolling mill the slab is reshaped above the recrystallization temperature. The qualities obtained in this process are e.g. strength and surface quality. During the rolling process the material passes through the furnace and the rolling line. In the furnace the metal is preheated by natural gas. There is no need for an additional warming, if the hot slabs are directly charged into the rolling mill. The forming is done in various rolling frames until the final shape is obtained. The steel scrap in this process are directly recycled. In the cold rolling mill the material is reshaped below the recrystallization temperature. Thereby a enhanced surface quality, an improved dimensional accuracy as well as a higher strength are achieved. The different process steps are: pickling, the rolling line and the heat treatment. In the disposal phase, mechanical dismantling is accounted for in module C1 for steel products (excavator), for all other metals a manual dismantling is assumed (no loads). Collecting losses are neglected. It is assumed that all metals reach the end of the waste status immediately after dismantling. This means that the loads for processing and the credits for the substitution of primary material are shown in Module D. The transport in module C2 to the treatment plant takes place with a truck (50km). Module D includes loads for sorting, remelting, slag treatment, landfill, filtration of dusts and dross treatment. Credits are given for the net scrap amount (amount returned minus secondary material content, minus processing losses) for the average material mix (from different alloys).
Pictogram of technology

Indicators of life cycle

IndicatorDirectionUnit Production
A1-A3
De-construction
C1
Transport
C2
Recycling Potential
D
Input
  • 12.49
  • 0
  • 0.002834
  • -2.874
Input
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
Input
  • 12.49
  • 0
  • 0.002834
  • -2.874
Input
  • 46.72
  • 0
  • 0.04385
  • -16.25
Input
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
Input
  • 46.72
  • 0
  • 0.04385
  • -16.25
Input
  • 0.7772
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
Input
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
Input
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
Input
  • 0.01876
  • 0
  • 0.000002581
  • -0.01468
Output
  • 5.193E-11
  • 0
  • 1.175E-13
  • -3.73E-10
Output
  • 0.489
  • 0
  • 0.000006394
  • -0.1024
Output
  • 0.001135
  • 0
  • 4.585E-8
  • -0.00006355
Output
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
Output
  • 0
  • 1
  • 0
  • 0
Output
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
Output
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
Output
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

IndicatorUnit Production
A1-A3
De-construction
C1
Transport
C2
Recycling Potential
D
  • 3.703
  • 0
  • 0.003254
  • -1.348
  • 0.007762
  • 0
  • -0.00001082
  • 0.007815
  • 3.693
  • 0
  • 0.003246
  • -1.355
  • 0.001789
  • 0
  • 0.00001932
  • -0.001416
  • 2.159E-11
  • 0
  • 5.656E-16
  • -1.838E-12
  • 0.00832
  • 0
  • 0.000008736
  • -0.002973
  • 0.0267
  • 0
  • 0.000009667
  • -0.008696
  • 0.02961
  • 0
  • 0.00005022
  • -0.01039
  • 0.000006566
  • 0
  • 7.53E-9
  • -7.526E-7
  • 0.002675
  • 0
  • 0.000004468
  • -0.0009298
  • 0.6644
  • 0
  • 0.00001681
  • -0.4784
  • 0.0001507
  • 0
  • 2.289E-10
  • -0.00003565
  • 46.7
  • 0
  • 0.04383
  • -16.23